


Swimming Lessons

by Lirillith



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: F/F, Femslash February, Fluff, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-05
Updated: 2014-02-05
Packaged: 2018-01-11 03:56:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1168384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lirillith/pseuds/Lirillith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aoi may be leaps and bounds beyond everyone else as a swimmer, but she still enjoys training with her two favorite girls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swimming Lessons

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as an attempt at a Femslash Exchange treat, but before I could write Sakura/Aoi/Chihiro, first I felt I had to try to reconcile Sakura’s canon reaction to learning Chihiro’s physical sex with Sakura seeing Chihiro as a girl or as non-binary or androgynous or anything other than “SHE’S A MAN.” And then I got worried that might not be what the recipient actually wanted. So it didn’t really go anywhere for a while, but it’s Femslash February and I hope the fic might make someone happy.
> 
> So, warning-wise, Sakura has some trouble figuring out how to think of Chihiro at first; ship-wise, there’s established background Sakura/Aoi and pre-relationship Sakura/Chihiro/Aoi.

"Okay, now try to kick at the same time— good, there you go!"    
  
Sakura, treading water at the deep end of the pool, didn’t need to hide her smile; the other two were too far away to see it, and poor Fujisaki probably had too much water in her eyes to see anything.  
  
Her eyes.  His.  Sakura was still trying to determine how she thought of their tiny classmate.  Her immediate reaction to Fujisaki Chihiro’s admission had been to reclassify Fujisaki as a young man, to reinterpret their classmate’s every action; no wonder he had always avoided closeness with the girls, turned down their offers of assistance in training, and gravitated toward Naegi, Oowada, and other boys.  But Asahina, always so welcoming and open, had continued to seek out Fujisaki’s company, and had finally, after many long discussions in her own dorm room or Fujisaki’s, come to Sakura with her own understanding.  
  
"I dunno what Chihiro-chan wants, exactly.  I don’t think Chihiro-chan does either, completely.  But you know, if you spend time with her?  It’s really hard to see her as not a girl.  Maybe that’s just me?"  
  
It had all been Asahina’s doing.  Asahina had arranged the shopping trip for the three of them, had solicited Sakura’s somewhat reticent and embarrassed input on the various girls’ swimsuits Fujisaki had tried on — all of them with skirts or frills or other elements, a nod to a reality they were all too embarrassed to mention — and had insisted on paying for the two Fujisaki finally chose, a late birthday gift, she said.  Just three months late, she’d added with a self-deprecating grin, to make Fujisaki laugh.  Sakura had felt it was only right to contribute her share to that gift, her initial doubts left behind, and Fujisaki’s teary-eyed gratitude had been both moving and convincing.  It was, indeed, difficult to see their classmate as anything other than a girl.    
  
Or perhaps it was simply difficult to see her as anything other than Fujisaki; were ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ really that important? There were those who considered Sakura herself masculine, yet at heart she was entirely a woman.  If that was how Fujisaki Chihiro felt as well, Sakura would honor that decision, as she would honor it if Fujisaki became more comfortable, later, as a boy.  It was possible; she’d certainly seemed a little unsure of herself when she’d changed into the new bathing suit and joined them in the pool, though it was difficult to know how much of that was ordinary bashfulness and how much could be attributed to Fujisaki’s unique circumstances.    
  
For now, though, all misgivings seemed forgotten.  She’d heard Fujisaki and Asahina laughing together before she slipped into the water, and few sounds pleased her more than Asahina’s laughter, regardless of the reason for it.  Asahina, she knew, was pleased to have the long-standing invitation finally accepted, and Fujisaki was clearly finding Asahina’s warmth and friendliness as reassuring as Sakura herself always had.  Swimming was the great joy of her dear friend’s life, and she knew Asahina relished the chance to share it.  Sakura herself was still a work-in-progress, less comfortable in the water than she’d ever been now that the absence of all baby fat and most other body fat as well had reduced her buoyancy, but she could tread water and move from one end of the pool to the other.  
  
"All right!  Go Chihiro-chan!" Asahina cried out as Fujisaki reached her destination at the wall of the pool near Sakura’s side.  Sakura wasn’t entirely certain that good swimming form included quite this much splashing, but some was unavoidable; and besides, it would have taken a heart of stone to make any such comment after seeing Fujisaki’s proud smile.    
  
"Well done, indeed, Fujisaki," Sakura added, quietly, and if her heart skipped a beat when that heart-melting smile was turned on her, she didn’t have to show it.  Asahina was headed their way now, her form as graceful as if she’d been born in the water. 

"She’s like a mermaid," Fujisaki murmured, perhaps not intending to be heard.    
  
"That was my first thought as well," Sakura admitted.  Fujisaki blushed, but she was still smiling, her attention on Sakura now.  "But she always compares herself to an otter."  The comparison was not self-deprecation, or at least not entirely.  They were Asahina’s favorite animal at the aquarium or the zoo; they’d gone there on their first and second dates respectively, at Asahina’s request.  
  
The otter mermaid in question reached and then pushed off of the wall next to them for another lap, evidently requiring more of a swim than she’d initially anticipated.  Sakura reached for the goggles pushed up on her own head, then pulled her hand back; Fujisaki had her hand to her chin, clearly deep in thought.    
  
"Otters are cute," Fujisaki said, sounding far more thoughtful than the question of marine mammal cuteness would entail for most people.  "And really… happy?  Cheerful-seeming."  
  
"Playful."  
  
"So I can see it."  
  
"As can I," Sakura agreed.  "And for that matter, her hair, when she doesn’t wear a swim cap — have you ever noticed otters at an aquarium giving off bubbles as they swim?  From air, captured in their fur, I believe."  
  
"Yes!"  
  
She’d noticed it before, when she was underwater while Asahina was — the bubbles streaming back from her hair, and the otter-ish way her brown locks looked when flattened to her scalp by the water. As if reading her mind, Fujisaki pushed her own goggles down and ducked beneath the surface, and Sakura followed suit. They were both waiting when Asahina slapped the wall, let out a bubble of laughter, and then broke the surface, still laughing.    
  
"It looked like you guys were going to pounce!  What’s up?  Ready for the next round?"  
  
"Indeed," Sakura said, and Fujisaki, smiling, nodded emphatically.


End file.
